evidence

That's Rodrigo S. Lucban. On July 16, 2008, he gave the Civic Hatchback an ugly dent.

Goofy pictures

Hannah's 2nd bday

Almost 10 months ago, on March 1, 2008, Hannah's 2nd birthday, Monette didn't have a camera and I was just figuring out how my new cellphone worked. Got this image of Hannah refusing to blow her candle. Bonus: a three-second clip from my phone.

Back to today: Hannah's first day of school at ICH (International Children's House).

Guyabano

In this video, recorded Nov. 11, 2008, Maggie describes a tropical fruit. Without the voice-over, it looks like a scene from science class.

David's iPod

Here's a clip taken on May 20, 2008. David is describing his historic iPod, a birthday and going-away gift from Paul Albano when we visited the U.S. Historic because it was his first iPod; also because somebody else is now enjoying it.

Rizal Park

Sunday, Jan. 18 — While Bel struggled through an 8-12 review class (Mandatory Continuing Legal Education program), the kids and I went to the Rizal Park to see some kite flying and historical spots. Oh yeah, statues of everyone, even those of people not mentioned in David's schoolbooks. When the sun came out and Maggie complained of the heat, we drove around Intramuros; saw the original locations of UST and Ateneo. Photos taken with my cellphone.

Chavit's Baluarte

31 DEC. — We know Chavit Singson as the governor of Ilocos Sur for four terms, the last one ending in 2007. He was also the Erap gambling crony whose whistle-blowing led to Erap's ouster. But to most tourists in Vigan, especially the kids, Chavit is the man who built Baluarte, a private zoo that is open all day, all night, free.

Here visitors get to pet the animals that range the vast grounds, excepting the caged snakes and tigers naturally.

We went to Baluarte, which is on the boundary between Vigan and Caoayan, twice: at sunset of the 30th, aboard a calesa, and a bit after sun-up on New Year's Eve before the drive back to Manila.

Vigan

30 DEC. — There was no rush to get home and we had a choice to spend the extra night in Laoag or Vigan. Wilbert had insisted that we go see his aunt Tessie in Laoag. It would've been nice to see her since my first and only visit to Laoag in 1982, but the lure of old houses and history took us to Vigan instead. We had no hotel reservation and it was our first time in the city, so we checked in the first place we thought looked okay, the Vigan Heritage Mansion, on the corner of Liberation and Crisologo. The hotel was an 1885 structure which became the home of Ilocos Sur Gov. Pedro Singson; it was remodeled by his daughter.

Had a late lunch /early dinner at Café Leona. The thin-crust pizza was good. I had the spicy squid. Bel ordered pinakbet and bagnet; Lorenzo the calamares sisig. (The link will take you to a posting by one very disappointed visitor.) The upside for me was Leona's story. Leona Florentino was a 19th-century poet who wrote in both English and Iloko. She was the mother of Isabelo de los Reyes, labor leader, journalist, founder of the Aglipayan church (but returned to the Catholic faith before he died), and Senator. He and Jose Rizal were second cousins. The fact that it was Rizal Day made our Vigan stop even more memorable.



So much for history. It seems that some of Vigan's famous past were so excited to welcome Bel to the city that she had trouble sleeping that night.



Vigan at night

A Pagudpud fish tale

On Tuesday, Dec. 30th, our second day in Pagudpud, we were figuring out how to make the most of the long trip. The outdoor temp was in the mid-20s. The waves were rough and the next island was Batanes.

Around noon, a group of local folks rushed to the beach, apparently to fish. We got curious and thought it would be good for the kids to do a bit of ethnography. It seems that their designated diver had spotted dilis, which meant there would be tulingan. About an hour later, the fishers closed in their nets. The tulingan were wriggling vigorously, creating a sound like the Japanese Zeros were over Pearl Harbor again, and on the sand, tiny dilis. This was the local economy in motion: the men with the bigger tulingan because it would go to market; the women and children picking up the dilis for the home kitchen.

Bel, David, Maggie and Regina helped with the dilis. Then someone passed a tulingan until it Bel. By way of explanation, a woman said, "Happy New Year!" David took the two-kilo catch to the kitchen for grilling. The tulingan in Manila markets are usually puny. Our lunch was longer than David's shoulders, and as fresh as fresh could be.

Later in the afternoon, we went on a guided hike up the Pico de Loro mountain to trace the spring which irrigates the rice paddies on the slopes and provides Pannzian with fresh drinking water. (I struck fresh not because it did not apply, but because it was an assumption for almost anything) Regina and Maggie displayed their perfect balance — katas ng ballet? — on the narrow trail. Swimming was optional so we opted not. Instead, Regina "baptized" her new baby doll. On the way down was a spectacular view of the Luzon Strait.

Pannzian beach and mountain resort

28 DEC. — We thought we'd never find the resort. At almost exactly 100 km from Laoag, we entered the town of Pagudpud, in the northernmost tip of Luzon. The sketch we got from the resort owner gave me the impression that it was moments away. All right, 25 km away through winding mountain roads with breathtaking views of the Sea of Luzon. At several points, I thought we had crossed over to Cagayan. It was nearing sunset and you never knew where the next gas station was. (I did fill up at Laoag, as advised, but that was more than an hour of driving already.)

Finally we got to the landmark Patapat bridge (according to the resort guide, it was five minutes away from the destination.) But not without one last heart-stopper: an 80-meter dirt-road detour that gave you a clear view of the rushing waves of the sea.



At Pannzian, we were treated to welcome leis and fresh coconut juice. Considering the looong drive, I thought I deserved something more soothing (i.e. alcoholic). Pannzian is owned by Bing Alonso, whose son Kenneth is my student. That is another story. Bing is big on many things: Ilokano food, eco-balance. The coconuts are grown on the property, so are the rice and the veggies. The fish, as David will attest, is caught less than 50 meters away.

We even had guard dogs who escorted us to the beach and waited under the dining tables for scraps. At first Maggie (who'd been bitten by a dog three years ago) and Regina were uncomfortable having fur brushing against their legs. On Monday, Regina was: "I can't eat with dogs under the table!" Next day: "I can't eat without the dogs!"

Here's the other story. Ken and his thesismates are doing a info campaign to persuade the mostly fisherfolk residents living around the resort to do environment-friendly stuff like recycling garbage, sensible fishing, and not making pulutan out of exotic birds. I am advising them. The trip satisfied Bel's long-drive requirement but it also gave me a better insight into what my students want to do.

Ilocos Trip

28 DEC. — There are some things one ought to try — at least once. One of them is taking a long drive, by my standards, to Ilocos Norte. Matters were simplified when Bel expressed a desire to spend the long holiday break at a beach. Batangas and Subic were too near, she said, so Pagudpud it was: 621 km one way, almost 15 hours of driving, including two stops in La Union and Laoag. If you look at the map on the right, our journey took us from one end of Luzon to the other.

We left at 1:25 a.m. Sunday. We could've started earlier, but Lorenzo went to a classmate's debut party and got back at 1 a.m. Since it was dark and most of the rest of humanity was asleep, we got to the North Luzon Expressway in half an hour, and about an hour later had exited the Subic-Tarlac expressway. I was ready for a coffee, but the kids were all asleep and there were no open coffee shops at 3 a.m.

By the time there was waking activity in the back seats, it was almost 7 a.m. and we had logged almost 300 km. (Keep in mind that Baguio is only 250 km from Manila). Bel had taken over the wheel at Caba, La Union, and drove past Bauang. Had breakfast at the Jollibee in San Fernando, La Union.

By 8:30, we had entered Ilocos Sur and it would be Ilocos Sur for the next three hours. Driving on the National Highway from Tarlac to Ilocos Norte should be quick since the traffic is better than on the South Luzon Expressway, except for the tricycles. I think I will create a video game called Driving to Ilocos (it's a working title). The object is to get to Ilocos as fast as possible. Along the way tricycles materialize from nowhere and their aim is to force you to a 40 kph crawl. Your job is to get past them. You lose points if you strike any one of the trikes. You lose BIG if you slam onto any oncoming vehicle on the opposite lane. It was like that on the real highway, except that it was boring.

It was mostly concrete, some asphalt, a bit of dirt, and lots of tricycles until we saw the sign that said "100 km to Laoag." Hurrah! (FYI: Manila to Pagsanjan is 90 km). From Laoag it would be another 125 km to the Pannzian resort in Barangay Pancian, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. The next town to the east would be Santa Praxedes, Cagayan Valley. Heard of the expression "Aparri to Jolo"? Pagudpud is less poetic but it is much further north than Aparri, Cagayan.

Between Laoag and Pannzian is the coastal town of Bangui, which hosts the windmills of the Northwind Power Development Corp. where we made a mandatory stop. You can click here for the official website and see the pictures of the same windmills. For the record, we have our own pictures and videos.



From here it was on to Pagudpud.

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Trip summary

28 Dec. 2008

Time	Location	Odometer
1:25	Home	0 km
3:00	Tarlac	100
6:45	San Fernando, La Union	300
8:30	Tagudin, Ilocos Sur	340
10:55	Vigan, Ilocos Sur	437
11:35	Sinait, Ilocos Sur	469
12:50	Laoag, Ilocos Norte	520
16:30	Pannzian	621

30 Dec.

11:50	Pannzian	621
16:00	Vigan	800

31 Dec.

7:20	Baluarte	800
9:50	Candon, Ilocos Sur	890
17:44	Home	1,247

I gassed up four times for a total of P3,727.27 (112 liters); I topped off with E10 in Marilao, Bulacan, so the tank was still near-full when we got home. NLEX toll is P174, SCTEX P69; P486 two-way. One-way bus fare is P600. By driving we saved at least P3,000.